The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes, whose courage, ingenuity and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
Araminty Ross (Cynthia Erivo) wanted nothing more than to be with her husband who was already a free man. Her idea to save money to hire a lawyer who could verify that she should have been freed due to her family’s previous entitlement was met with deaf ears. In 1849, when she had just about enough of bargaining for her inalienable right to freedom, she took matters into her own hands and left without her husband as she didn’t want to further jeopardize his status. Strapped with prayers from her pastor and the gift of foreseeing the future through seizure episodes, Minty left the south and traveled ninety mines away to Pennsylvania to discover a whole new world of freed black people.
In Pennsylvania, “Minty” met with William Tell (Leslie Odom, Jr.), whom she had been referred to. In the first order of business, she was allowed to choose a new name by which she became the infamous, Harriet Tubman, a combination of her mother’s and husband’s name. While Harriet was very proud of her new life as a free woman, she could not rest until she was able to journey back to the south in order to bring her husband, more family members, and several others into her new lifestyle. To her dismay, Harriet found that her husband had taken on a new wife after having heard that she had drowned in the river during her escape. Bent, but not broken, and against the advice of Mr. Tell, Harriet journeyed back and forth to the south several times as more and more people wanted to become a part of living a life of freedom. Even with a bounty over her head, Harriett continued this mission until she had brought seventy slaves to freedom under the alias of Conductor Moses with the Underground Railroad. Harriet’s journey to freedom was not a self-reliant struggle she could claim as her own… hotel owner, Marie Buchanan (Janelle Monáe) was instrumental in teaching her social etiquette and how to use power and poise as a barrier to keep her safe and several slave harborers were equally instrumental in giving her access to and use of their facilities while attempting to bring others to Pennsylvania.
Director Kasi Lemmons did an excellent job of providing a strong cast of characters that were central to the development of the plot as well as a storyline that delved more deeply into the personal life of Harriet Tubman and the wealth of opposition she faced while pursuing freedom for herself and others. Cynthia Erivo was excellent in characterizing Harriet as a strong and fearless black woman who, time after time, as a known slave stealer, jeopardized her own life and ultimately the organization that saved her, in pursuit of more free souls. Leslie Odom, Jr., also, was a formidable match as the unrelenting protector of the Union that he represented and the Harriet he came to know and love. The film is excellent in recreating a community liaison of historical value and impact that does a great deal to shed more light on Harriet Tubman (Moses) and her life’s work as a freedom fighter.
In Theaters Friday, November 1st
